A tart, rhubarb filling sandwiched between a buttery shortbread base and a nutty crumble topping. These delicious rhubarb bars are vibrant in color and flavor. A perfectly sweet, delicious summer treat, that is super easy to make.EASY - This is a super easy dessert bar recipe! Easy to adapt and guarantees consistent results. Great for beginners as well. US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results. You can switch between the measurement types using the toggle button below the ingredients list.
300gAP flour(spooned and leveled for cup measurements)
150gwhite sugar
¼tspsea salt
226gbutter2 sticks
1largeegg
1tspvanilla extract
3tbspsliced almonds or rolled oatsoptional
Makes: 9inch9 x 9inch rectangle
Instructions
Rhubarb filling (makes about 1½ cups)
Place the rhubarb, sugar, apple, lemon juice, water, and salt in a saucepan (I use a 5 qt / 1 L pot for 1 batch). Mix well to combine.
450 g rhubarb, 150 g white sugar, 65 g green apple, grated, 1.5 tbsp lemon juice, 4 tbsp water, Pinch sea salt
Place the pot over medium-high heat and cook until the mix comes to a boil. Stir frequently while cooking. This should take about 10 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium / medium-low and continue to cook the mixture while stirring frequently. The mixture may start to bubble, so be careful!
Cook until the mixture starts to thicken and it looks like apple butter. This can take a further 20 - 30 minutes.
Once thickened, remove from the heat and transfer the filling into a bowl. Let it cool down to room temperature. Cover and let it chill in the fridge until the next day if needed, but the filling can be used at room temperature (or slightly warmer as well).
Shortbread dough
Make sure the butter is soft and at room temperature. You can use cold butter as well, but it will be harder to mix. If the butter is hard and not easily pressed, place the butter in a warm area until it’s soft (or microwave on low power). Do not let it melt.
226 g butter
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt.
300 g AP flour, 150 g white sugar, ¼ tsp sea salt
Add the butter, egg, and vanilla.
226 g butter, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract
Using a spatula, mix the butter, egg and flour mix together. You can also use your hands to mix the dough.
Make sure the butter and egg are mixed through the flour uniformly and forms a soft dough.
Divide the dough into two pieces - ¾ of the dough and a smaller ¼ of the dough. Cover the dough and let it rest while you prepare the baking pan.
Assembly and baking
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
Butter and line a 9 inch square pan with parchment paper.
Take the larger portion of shortbread dough (¾ portion), and press it into the bottom of the baking pan. Make sure the dough is pressed into a flat, even layer. Use a flat surface like a spatula or the bottom of a glass to evenly press the dough into the base.
Spread about 1 cup of the cooled rhubarb filling over the shortbread layer.
OPTIONAL - add the almond or oats to the ¼ portion of the dough. Break up the dough into smaller pieces and mix it with the nuts / oats.
3 tbsp sliced almonds or rolled oats
Take smaller pieces of the dough and flatten them slightly. Place these flattened dough pieces on top of the rhubarb filling layer. You can place enough to cover the whole rhubarb filling or leave some gaps to have the filling peaking through.
Transfer the baking pan into the preheated oven and bake for about 40 minutes, rotating the pan once halfway through the baking time. Remove the pan from the oven when there is some browning on the surface.
Let the bars cool down to room temperature. Preferably let it chill for a few hours in the fridge to make it easier to cut them into bars.
Remove the rhubarb bars from the pan and cut into squares or bars. I cut them into 16 squares.
Store the bars in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge.
Notes
Storage instructions
Room temperature - about 2 daysFridge - about 1 weekFreezer - about 2 months. If you're storing them in the freezer, make sure to separate stacked bars with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking to each other. I also highly recommend that you wrap them in foil before storing in an air-tight container. I find that this practice reduces the buttery shortbread from absorbing other smells in the freezer.